


Three times Jose Theodore noticed Sheldon Souray (and his stupid truck)

by Velocity_Owl87



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Male Friendship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-13
Updated: 2011-11-13
Packaged: 2017-10-26 00:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/276766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velocity_Owl87/pseuds/Velocity_Owl87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three scenes of how Jose met, got and stayed with Sheldon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three times Jose Theodore noticed Sheldon Souray (and his stupid truck)

_“I know we'll have better luck - me and my pickup truck  
just a couple of fix 'er ups in my pickup truck” Shane Yellowbird_

  
The first time Jose Theodore really noticed Sheldon Souray...he was far from being impressed.

  
For one thing, he was too damned skinny. And tall. And had zits and his hair was just too long and his clothes were well...they certainly reminded Jose that he wasn't in Montreal anymore.

  
He understood that Edmonton wasn't going to be the big sophisticated city when his parents decided that they needed to get him and his brothers to a quieter and less troublesome place. Not to mention the fact that his dad had scored a pretty decent job. Although him and his brothers had argued, their parents had been firm. So they had pulled up stakes and moved about four provinces away from everything they had known.

  
And now Jose was stuck in the middle of this hick town, staring at this skinny, obviously trashy kid who was doing his best to not gawk at him as he pulled up in front of him at the bus stop. Although it was flattering, Jose was pretty sure he didn't quite swing that way and if he did, that scrawny dorky kid wouldn't be his first choice.

  
“Oh for fuck's sake.” He finally snapped out at nothing in particular as he watched the truck roll to a slow stop. He was just very, very fucking irritated. He was already late for practice, and his bag was fucking heavy, and he'd been waiting at that stupid bus-stop for at least fifteen minutes, and no bus was coming. During which he had watched that dorky kid pull up to the 7-Eleven in what he thought was the crappiest truck he had ever seen, bounce inside and come out with a large bottle of water and Gatorade and climb back into the truck.

  
Where he had put his feet on the dash, drank half of the water and watched Jose swear to himself and look at his watch until he finally started the truck (which, Jose thought to himself, he was being generous in calling it a truck, since it was more rust than actual paint and looked to be older than the guy driving it) and slowly drove over to where Jose was impatiently standing.

  
Jose sighed and tried to not meet the guy's eyes. For all he knew, he was just some sleazy hick out to fuck with him. So he looked at his watch and swore again for not being able to be old enough to drive, never mind afford a car.

  
“Hey, you going to hockey practice?” The voice was not what he expected at all. It was smooth, slow and made him think naughty thoughts instead of annoyance.

  
“Why?” Jose asked, tamping down the small spark of hope that had shot up in his chest. Yeah, it would be nice to get a ride and not be late, but he also didn't know this guy from Adam and living in Montreal had taught him to NOT be stupid.

  
“You play for the Oil Kings? Cuz that's where I'm going, eh? Look?” Jose looked and was treated to a span of smooth, coppery skin as the kid twisted around in his seat as he looked for something to prove that he wasn't just some weird creep offering people rides just for the hell of it. Seeing that made Jose's brain short-circuit a bit. It was a nice bit of torso and even if he had previously said he didn't swing that way and certainly not for this kid...

  
“Here, see?” Jose's attention snapped up to the kid, and he felt his mouth get slightly dry when he really looked at the kid's face. Although yeah, he had some zits, his features were pretty nice and his eyes were warm and friendly. Jose knew that if he gave him a few years...

  
“Did you see? Don't you have one too?” Jose focused and finally noticed that the kid was holding out a cheap wallet on a chain that had an ID card showing that he was one of the defencemen for the Oil Kings and that his name was Sheldon Souray.

  
“Uh...yeah. Yeah.” Jose finally pulled his mind back to the conversation. He remembered now, in the flurry of paperwork and moving from Gatineau to the Oil Kings, the taking of pictures for the ID that had arrived right before they had taken off.

  
“Okay...then do you want a ride to practice, beautiful?” Sheldon asked him, making Jose look at him in a mixture of shock and exasperation at his boldness.  
“My name is Jose. And don't ever offer anyone a ride with that line again. Seriously.”

  
Sheldon laughed and shrugged. “Good to know and worth a try. That is, you do want the ride, right?”

  
Jose laughed as he threw his bag in the back beside Sheldon's and placed his sticks down a bit more carefully before getting into the cab and slamming the door shut.  
“I'm only doing this because we're late for practice, so don't get any ideas.” Jose warned him as he put on the seatbelt and tried to not squirm around on the threadbare seat.

  
Sheldon laughed as he put the truck in gear and looked behind him.

  
“We're not late. Coach just tells us that to make sure that we really aren't late.” Sheldon replied as he manouvered his truck smoothly into traffic.  
Jose groaned. “I can't believe I fell for that!”

  
“Don't worry. We all do at first. Just consider it the welcome to the team. Heh.”

  
“Yeah...thanks.” Was all Jose could think to say.

  
“Meh, don't worry. Lucky I was there to give you a ride, eh? Even with a shitty pick up line?”

  
Jose couldn't help himself then. Even though he wasn't really impressed and Sheldon wasn't his ideal, he had to admit that at that moment, it didn't matter.  
He just laughed.  
~*~*~*~  
The second time Jose Theodore really noticed Sheldon Souray was at the WHL play-off race during their first game against the Prince Albert Raiders.

  
“You better not fuck up, eh? We gotta win this.” Sheldon had teased him as he had skated by during warm-ups. Jose had only taken his mask off and given him the side-eye.

  
“Says the defence. You'd better not fuck it up.” Jose shot back, but without heat. He had realized, after several months of being team-mates, that was Sheldon's way of showing affection.

  
Despite the first impression and the fact that he was sort of a goof, Jose had slowly come to revise that opinion. Sheldon was more shy than anything and awkward with it.

He didn't really have too many friends in the dressing room, and Jose got the impression that apart from his fellow D-men and him, he didn't really open up to anyone else.

  
He was more at home on the ice and did his best out there, playing his heart out and playing through so much. He was big and he wasn't as speedy, but he had a great presence and a wicked slapshot. And Jose knew that his goal benefitted highly from Sheldon being one of his defencemen.

  
“If we do well, you wanna grab coffee with me after the game then?” Sheldon asked, his smile getting wide as Jose stared at him in open mouthed shock.

  
“What? Are you serious?” Jose hissed the minute he was able to get his brain working again after that question.

  
Sheldon nodded as he lazily skated around Jose. “As a heart-attack. Why? Are you scared you won't resist my charms and be all over me like a cheap shirt?”  
Jose just looked at him. “Oh my God, where the hell do you get these things?”

  
Sheldon shrugged, but despite the carefree gesture, his eyes were dark and serious. He was licking his lips, and Jose had watched him enough to know that was one of his nervous twitches. It hit him there, in sudden understanding, how much it was costing him to ask that. Even couched in a silly throwaway line, it was obvious that Sheldon really did mean what he was asking. He wanted to take his goalie out for coffee.

  
“Fine. Besides, it's not like it's really going to happen. I'm going to have to do the work, since you guys are lazy asses.” Jose replied, making Sheldon smile crookedly.

  
“Hah, you wish. Trust me, it's gonna be worth it. Hope the coffee will be enough to wash your pride down with.” Sheldon shot back, winking at him before he skated away to position.

  
Jose flushed and was about to skate after him when the buzzer sounded, signalling the beginning of the game. He was so not forgetting this and would make him pay, that was for certain.

  
But for now, he had a game to win. He got himself under control and put his helmet on and got his gear in order. He scuffed up his crease during the singing of the anthem and got in position. He was ready.

  
~*~*~*~*  
“Fuck.” Jose groaned as he leaned over. The Oil Kings were leading the Raiders by one goal, and the fuckers hadn't stopped shooting at him to take the game into overtime.

Luckily, Sheldon hadn't been lying when he said that the defence was going to work hard. They had blocked many shots, it was true. But he still had to work hard to keep them from becoming goals.

  
He was thanking his lucky stars that they only had two minutes left and another face-off in the other zone. That would give him some time to collect himself and be ready for the oncoming shots. That's if his team-mates kept it down there long enough to do so.

  
They kept it there long enough and even managed a couple of shots until a turnover had one of the Raiders skating fast on a breakaway. He got ready, but he had a feeling that this was a save he wasn't going to make, no matter what he did. The guy was too determined, and he was just too fucking tired.

  
But he perked up a bit when he saw Sheldon gaining on the guy. Despite not being one of the fastest, Sheldon could move when he had to and right now, he had to.

  
Sheldon didn't quite make it in front, but he got there enough to take the puck away with his stick. It didn't work since the Raiders player was already making the shot, but it screwed up the guy's aim and Sheldon could already see that and reacted accordingly.

  
Which was to move in the way of the puck and let it smack him full on in the face.

  
~*~*~*~*~  
“That was utterly stupid, you realize.” Jose told Sheldon as he guided him towards his pickup, which another team-mate had driven and left for them in the hospital parking lot.

  
“We won the game.” Sheldon replied sulkily in a clogged voice as he let Jose lead him.

  
“Yeah, and you won't be playing the next game because of that.” Jose pointed out as they got to the truck, and leaned Sheldon against it.

  
“Give me your keys. I know Smitty gave them to you.” He demanded, and Sheldon glared at him as he pulled out his keys from his pocket and dropped them into Jose's waiting hand. The glare would have made Jose think twice about bossing him around on most days. But with Sheldon being dizzy and sporting a nasty black eye as well as a bandage across his face and his left nostril packed up, it had as much effect as a kitten glaring at him.

  
“Nah. I'll play and we'll be up in the series.” Sheldon insisted. Jose snorted as he opened the door and none too gently nudged him inside the cab.

  
“Dude, you're dizzy, can barely walk a straight line and got a broken cheekbone and about fifteen stitches. I sincerely doubt it. Besides, what you need is a ton of rest. Christ that was stupid.” Jose chided him as he buckled him in and slammed the door shut before Sheldon could reply.

  
He looked in the back and saw that his team-mates had been nice enough to get their gear bags and their sticks out in the back before they had taken the truck to the hospital. Shaking his head, Jose walked around the front of the truck and was glad that Sheldon had unlocked the door, despite being loopier than fuck and trying to pretend he wasn't.

  
“So where the hell do you live?” Jose asked the minute he had gotten settled and got the engine started.

  
“About ten blocks away from you. Just drive as if you're heading to your house. I'll let you know when we get there.” Sheldon replied as he gingerly touched his cheekbone. “Fuck.”

  
Jose immediately felt bad for snapping at him when he saw the action and heard the soft swearing. He knew that he was mostly pissy because it had scared him, seeing Sheldon drop like a ton of bricks in front of him and then seeing the ruin of his face when he had finally been able to get to his knees with the help of the trainers.It had shaken him up, seeing Sheldon being helped off, and he had to admit that he was glad it had changed the momentmun of the game as well. It had also made him wonder why he had felt that way, and had made him question exactly what Sheldon Souray meant to him as Fernando Pisani had driven him to the hospital right behind Smitty, who had taken Sheldon's truck.

  
Especially since Pisani had rubbed a sore spot on the way there. His eyes darkened as he put the vehicle in gear and headed to the road as he recalled the abrupt conversation.

  
“It's nice you offered to take Shel home, since you just got to the team and all.” Pisani had said as he drove, his eyes on the road and his tone carefully neutral as he had spoken.

  
“Uh, yeah. I mean, it's the least I can do after he got a puck in the face doing his job.” Jose had replied, getting a bit suspicious at how Pisani had phrased that comment.  
“Yeah, right. You're telling me you'd drive Smitty home if that was the case?” Pisani asked sarcastically.

  
“Well...yeah. Why wouldn't I?” Jose asked, his face hot as he spoke. “Are you implying-”

  
“I'm not implying. I'm telling you what I'm seeing. I've known Shel longer than you, and I've seen how hard he's had it. He's being billeted, and he's not exactly the most popular guy around. I don't know if you've noticed, but this city isn't exactly friendly to Native people. I just don't want you to be fucking around with him just for kicks, all right?”

  
“Is that what you think? That I'm fucking with him?” Jose asked, clearly taken aback at the insinuation that he was that much of a bastard.

  
“I don't know. Sure looks like it, with how friendly you're getting with Shel, accepting rides and joking around with him more than the rest of us. None of the others have really noticed, but I have. So I'm telling you right now, if you fuck with him, I don't give a fuck if you are our starting goalie. I will kick your ass. Besides, Donovan is a capable enough goalie and can play if need be.”

  
“I'm not fucking with him. I don't even know what the fuck is going on.” Jose retorted sharply.

  
“Oh for fuck's sake. I'll spell it out for you: Shel likes you. Or else he wouldn't be running after you so patiently. I know him. He's got it bad for you. I've seen him with girls. Mind you, you're the first that hasn't flipped him the bird or hit him with a purse...” He looked at Jose for a brief moment.

  
“You don't have a purse, do you?”He asked, his lips twitching as he looked back to the road.

  
“Fuck you, and why was he striking out with girls so badly? He's not bad looking, a bit dorky, but he'll grow out of it, and he's really nice...what the fuck are you looking at?”

Jose asked, his face turning red as he realized how he sounded as he described Sheldon. Well, it was true...and it wasn't weird to notice that about your teammate. He did that in Quebec, with Danny and...Jose decided he would stop that train of thought and just concentrate on surviving what was turning out to be a real weird conversation in a really weird night.

  
“Nothing. And to answer your question, he's got crap chat-up lines. And that awful truck of his. I mean, I know it's all he can afford now, but it's certainly not a chick magnet. But seriously. Even if you don't like him, be gentle. He doesn't need someone fucking him up.” Pisani explained quietly.

  
“Look. I don't really know at the moment. But I won't be a jerk to him. And not just because he's my ride and my defence. I just don't know. But I'll take the warning.” Jose replied.

  
“Good. We're here. Get the hell out and remember, we got Donovan.”

  
Jose had flipped him the bird and headed to the hospital, determined to push the conversation and the weird feelings that it was bringing up to the back of his mind.

  
He had succeeded until that moment, since he knew it was no fun to be injured. He wondered if Shel's family would fuss over him, or if they would just ignore the injury.

  
“Is someone gonna be waiting for you?” Jose blurted out suddenly, making Sheldon laugh.

  
“Nah. It's cool. I mean, I'm old enough to take care of myself. I've been injured before. I'll just take some painkillers and sleep it off. Be ready for practice tomorrow.” Sheldon replied casually. Too casually, making Jose wonder if it was simply an old hurt that only stung from time to time, but had ached fiercely before.

  
They didn't say anything else as they drove the rest of the way, Jose too caught up in his thoughts as he tried to talk himself or convince himself of the idea Sheldon's words had brought up in him.

  
“Hey...why did you stop? This is your house.” Sheldon's protests were what brough him back to the present time, but Jose had already turned the engine off and was unbuckling his seatbealt.

  
“Why are you stopping here? I live like ten- Aaagh! Fuck what are you-”

  
Sheldon's protests were cut off by Jose grabbing his hair right before kissing him forcefully. Although it was sloppy and sort of awkward, Sheldon did respond to the kiss with as much alacrity, letting his lips open for Jose's tongue to clumsily and wetly explore his mouth before they broke it off.

  
They looked at each other as they caught their breaths.

  
“What was that?” Sheldon asked as he first wiped his mouth and then untangled Jose's fingers from his hair.

  
“What the fuck do you think it was?” Jose shot back roughly.

  
Sheldon smiled tiredly. “An answer to the questions I've been asking.”

  
Jose laughed softly.”Took me awhile, I mean if it hadn't been asked in cheesy pick-up lines...”

  
Sheldon groaned. “Fuck off. I was nervous. I figured if you didn't respond, I could laugh it off and pretend it didn't hurt when you kicked my ass to the curb.”

  
Jose felt his heart hurt a little at the confession and understood now why Pisani had been so violently protective of Sheldon.

  
“I wouldn't have.” He blurted out, making Sheldon look at him sharply. “Kicked your ass to the curb, I mean. Even if I didn't like you. I wouldn't have.”

  
“So, do you like me, or was that how dudes in Quebec kiss their friends?”

  
Jose laughed. “Only people we like. Trust me on this. Now let's go inside. My family won't mind and if we're gonna do this, I wanna keep you close, injured or not.”  
Sheldon looked at him for a few more moments before he smiled and leaned forward to kiss him again.

  
“Sounds like a plan. And Jose?”

  
“Yeah?”

  
“It was worth it.”

  
~*~*~*~*~

  
The third time that Jose Theodore really noticed Sheldon was at the end of the season. They had gotten the Oil Kings as far as they could have in the Memorial Cup runnings, but the Ice and the Rebels had proven stronger. Jose didn't mind. They had had a good run and had improved greatly in that year. Not to mention that Shel had come into his life as well.

  
At that, he had to smile to himself and didn't feel ashamed of being such a sappy git about the situation. The best times off the ice had been spent drinking slurpees and sitting in some park somewhere talking about everything and nothing at the same time. Or aimlessly taking slapshots against the wall of St. Brennan's, the local High School they both attended and hated.And of course, the non-stop making out in Sheldon's truck with some crap music in the background. Overall, it wasn't bad.

  
“Hey.” Sheldon greeted him as he sat down next to Jose, but not close enough to cause suspicion.

  
“Hey. What's up?” Jose asked as he checked his bag and made sure that he had packed all his gear.

  
“I wanted to ask you what you're doing this summer. You going back to Montreal?” Sheldon asked as he played with the string of his hoodie, putting it in his mouth and biting on it in a habit that Jose found both exasperating and cute at the same time.

  
“Laval. And yeah. For a bit. Take that out of your mouth. Why?” Jose said as he reached over and tried to pull the string out of Sheldon's mouth.

  
“I'm leaving for home next week. Going back to Cold Lake. Just wanted to know if you could come out for a month. But you're going to Laval, so it-” Sheldon was cut off by Jose punching him in the thigh, making him yelp in pain.

  
“What the fuck was that for? Fuck that hurt!” Sheldon complained as he rubbed his sore thigh.

  
“First of all, get the string out of your mouth. That's my hoodie you're wearing. Second of all, we're going in August. So yeah, I want to. Nothing would make me happier, okay?”

  
“I think I know a couple of things. Camping's always good for them, ya know?”

  
Jose looked at him and laughed.

  
At least Sheldon hadn't tried a pick-up line on him this time.

  
“You are such a loser man. And I don't know what I'd do without you.”

  
Sheldon grinned and punched him in the arm before he stood up and went to his locker.

  
“Later.” Jose promised him, smiling back at Sheldon.

  
“Yeah. Later.” Sheldon agreed.

  
They would have later and all that in Cold Lake.

  
Now to hold off for fifteen minutes more before they hauled their gear to the truck.

  
END.

**Author's Note:**

> I got hooked on Shane Yellowbird's song, "Pickup Truck" and after having a conversation with gisforgreen about the cheesy pickup lines in the song and how I could picture Sheldon in a shitty truck trying to hit on Jose, the idea was developed. C provided the proofreading and mishey22 provided conversation. Thanks ladies!
> 
> Again, I don't own the people mentioned or the song, which belongs to Shane Yellowbird.


End file.
